Even if they did try to breach somewhere else, you’d expect the defenders to know where almost immediately. There’s only so many boarding tubes, and they’d see where it was being attached long before the troops were ready to board.
That was kind of the whole point of the movie, right? Everyone thought Stewart shot Valance, but in actuality it was a myth. And when Stewart tries to tell people the truth they end up preferring the myth instead. People actually miss this point?
It’s interesting that John Ford made the same point in Fort Apache, though not as explicitly.
Henry Fonda was a idiot commander who lead an attack against the Apaches even though Wayne had warned them it was a trap. Wayne was dismissed for insubordination. Fonda attacked and was killed, but became a hero a la Custer for his last stand. When a reporter asked Wayne about it, he confirmed the legend.
Thank you for reminding me of the Ugly Cry I had during this scene of the movie. There are a lot of flaws in that movie but… that ending tore my guts out emotionally.